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This week’s Torah portion is entitled Vayishlach which means, “And he was sent.” It covers Genesis 32:4 to 36:43. In the preceding chapter we learn that God’s purpose for the time being had been accomplished with Jacob in the house of uncle Laban. Now it was time to return to the land of his fathers as instructed by Adonai.
This parasha opens with Jacob strategizing over the inevitable encounter with his brother Esau. In Genesis 27:36 we are reminded that Jacob had supplanted Esau twice, obtaining both the birthright and the blessing.
In chapter 32, Jacob sends out an advance party to try to get a sense of Esau’s attitude. Offering little clarity; the returning messenger tells Jacob that his brother got his message and was coming out to meet him, accompanied by 400 men.
Even though the Lord assured Jacob and his descendants that He would be with him, Jacob still feels the need to strategize his survival. Jacob decides to send on ahead a large number of livestock as a gift to Esau, in hopes of appeasement and peace, hoping it might heal any residual animosity his brother may still harbor.
As they approached the Jabbak creek, Jacob instructs His wives and children to go on ahead, and now he finds himself alone.
In verse 24 Jacob finds himself struggling through the night into daybreak with an unknown man, who we learn is the angel of the Lord. When the angel of the lord could not prevail, he touched Jacob’s hip and dislocated it. Jacob in his relentless struggle would not let go of the angel until he blessed him. The angel of the lord then asks, “What is your name?” When Jacob tells him, the angel says to him, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel – (‘one who wrestles with God’) for you have striven with God and men, and have prevailed.”
Then the angel of the Lord blesses him. At this juncture, it’s safe to say that Jacob knew who he was wrestling with, because he names the location of the event ‘Peniel’ stating, “For I have seen God face to face and yet, my life has bee preserved!” Peniel is translated ‘the face of God’.
In chapter 33, Jacob and Esau meet for the first time in several years. Much to Jacob’s elation, Esau runs to him, greeting him and weeping and kissing him on the neck. After a brief reunion and introduction of his family, Jacob journeys to Succoth and settles there. Jacob eventually moves on to the city of Shechem and purchases a piece of land where he erects an altar and names it El-Elohe-Israel – “God, the God of Israel” declaring that he worshipped the “Mighty One.”
Shechem is the same place Abraham first built an altar to the Lord back in chapter 12:6-7. By declaring his loyalty to Adonai, Jacob is formally fulfilling the vow he took in chapter 28 at the time he had to flee Canaan.
In chapter 34 we learn that Dinah, daughter of Leah and Jacob, ventured into the city of Shechem to visit the daughters of the land. When Shechem the son of Hamor saw Dinah he raped her. Thinking nothing of his violent act, Shechem then spoke to his father Hamor telling him that he loved Dinah and wanted to marry her.
Jacob and eventually his sons learned of the rape. With a proposal of marriage, Shechem and his father approach Jacob and his sons with outstretched hands, suggesting that their nations merge and intermarry. Shechem, who is in love with Dinah, offers whatever bridal payment is required.
Jacobs’s sons explain to Shechem and his father that on account of the Abrahamic covenant with God they cannot allow intermarriage with uncircumcised men, and that only if all the men of Shechem are circumcised can this “merger” take place. But their suggestion isn’t borne of devotion to God. It is a ruse. All this time they have been harboring a grudge against Shechem for raping their sister.
Hamor and his son Shechem acknowledge this to be a reasonable concern, and all the men of Shechem are promptly circumcised. On the third day after their painful circumcision, while completely immobilized, Simeon and Levi go into the city and slaughter all their men, including Shechem and his father Hamor, and remove Dinah from their house.
Simeon and Levi also plunder the city of all its wealth. When Jacob finds out, he tells Simeon and Levi that they have brought disgrace and potential danger to the family. If the other inhabitants in the land hear about Shechem, they could align forces and destroy Jacob and the nation of Israel.
In chapter 35 Adonai once again speaks to Jacob, saying, “Arise and go up to Bethel and live there and make an altar to God who spoke to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” Jacob instructs the family to hand over all the foreign idols, to purify themselves and to change their garments because they were heading to Bethel, home in a sense. Jacob buried the idols, trinkets, rings, and earrings under the oak tree near Shechem.
As Jacob and the nation traveled to Bethel, God guided them and supernaturally protected them from the surrounding cities and their inhabitants. Upon arrival, Jacob built an altar to the Lord and named it El-Beth-El. This was the same place God first appeared to Jacob when he fled from Esau.
In chapter 35, verse 9, Adonai formalizes Jacob’s name change to Israel and also reconfirms the Abrahamic Covenant with him, saying, “A nation and a company of nations shall come from you. And kings shall come forth from you. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you and to your decedents after you.”
The chapter ends with the names of Israel’s 12 sons and tells of the death of Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, and the death of Rachel while giving birth to Benjamin. Finally, we read of Isaac’s death at the age of one hundred eighty. Both Esau and Israel lay him to rest. It is the last time the brothers will come together.
Chapter 36 outlines the descendants of Esau. It is important for us, even today, to understand who the descendants of Esau were. It was Abraham’s descendants thru Isaac and Jacob to whom the covenant was confirmed, and who would possess the land.
It was fitting for God to work out the circumstances providentially of keeping Jacob’s descendants in the land and move Esau’s descendants to another region. It isn’t revealed whether Esau understood or came to accept the promises of God to Israel. Sadly, Esau’s descendants attempted to deny Israel access to the Promised Land, and have made their lives difficult, as we see still occurring today.
Parasha Vayishlach gives us insight into the wisdom and sovereignty of God in contrast to the flaws and imperfection of man. Both Jacob and Esau were recipients of God’s favor. However, only Jacob received the continuation of the covenant.
The title Vayishlach is appropriate. It was Jacob’s obligation and calling to be “sent”. He was sent away to preserve his life and to prevent intermarriage with the polytheistic nations. He was sent to the pastures to herd sheep by his uncle Laban. And eventually Jacob was sent back to the land of his fathers, all for the purpose of preserving the inheritance of Israel.
God sovereignty chose Jacob who, in contrast to his brother Esau, was gentle, and transformed him into a patriarch of the Israeli nation. Throughout this biblical account we experience God working out His perfect plan despite the imperfection of men.
Adonai chose an individual: Abraham, a nation: Israel and a lineage thru Jacob to bring His redemptive purposes to fruition in our lives by way of Messiah Yeshua – Jesus.
But we see the hardship involved. Jacob was removed from the comforts of his life, away from the security of his father’s tent, away from all that was familiar, and was sent to a distant place. Only then could God’s purposes be completed in his life.
Studying the biblical accounts of the patriarchs, we learn that God the Father and Yeshua the Messiah aren’t interested in our accomplishments and ‘success’ but are looking for faithfulness, obedience and conformity to righteousness. But perhaps most importantly, it is our perseverance – the ability to hold on during this wrestling match called “life” that matters.
Like Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel through perseverance, Yeshua promised us a name change, and an everlasting blessing, if we will endure,
Saying “To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a new name written on a white stone, known only to him who receives it” (Revelation 2:17).